Free Bahrain Trophy Stakes 2021 Tips

Newmarket’s Moet & Chandon July Festival is this week’s racing highlight. Check out our free Bahrain Trophy Stakes 2021 tips, analysis, and runner-by-runner guide.

When Is The Bahrain Trophy Stakes 2021?

The Bahrain Trophy Stakes will be run at 1.50 on Thursday 8 July, the first day of the Moet & Chandon July Festival at Newmarket. It is the second race on a seven-race card that includes the July Stakes and the Princess of Wales’s Tattersalls Stakes.

History Of The Bahrain Trophy Stakes

The Bahrain Trophy Stakes was established in 1991 when it was run over 1 mile 6 furlongs and 175 yards. It was a Listed race when the race distance was reduced to 1 mile and 5 furlongs in 2006 but was elevated to a Group 3 race three years later.

Renowned winners of the race include Persian Punch, Youmzain, Masked Marvel, and Hartnell, while last year’s Al Aasy is now rapidly making a name for himself in the middle-distance ranks.

Bahrain Trophy Stakes Trends

Single-figure fields ranging from five to nine runners have occurred in each of the last ten editions of the Bahrain Trophy Stakes, and no winner has been drawn wider than stall five. Stalls one and four have produced the joint most winners, with three each.

The last ten winners had all run between 20 and 48 days earlier, but no winners had run more than three times in the same season before winning this race. Seven winners were returned at odds of 7/2 (4.50) or shorter, with the other three were returned at no bigger than 7/1 (8.0).

John Gosden has trained four of the last ten winners, but the last of those wins came in 2015. Jim Crowley, Ryan Moore, and Frankie Dettori have all ridden a winner in the last decade, with Dettori holding the all-time record with seven wins.

Bahrain Trophy Stakes Runner-By-Runner Guide

Six runners are set to go to post for the 2021 Bahrain Trophy Stakes.

Dancing King
Typical Mark Johnston-trained three-year-old improver that elevated his handicap mark from 73 to 97 with four consecutive wins at the beginning of the season. He then disappointed when only finishing eighth in the Queen’s Vase at Royal Ascot. More experienced than a typical Bahrain Trophy Stakes winner and held on his Royal Ascot form by the likely favourite. However, he has a favourable draw in stall four.

Gear Up
Second runner for trainer Mark Johnston and he’s also bagged a favourable draw in stall one. His form figures of 5 – 0 – 5 this season don’t look great, but those runs have come in the Dante Stakes, Derby, and King Edward VII Stakes. A Group 1 winner last season, he now steps up in distance, with the first-time booking of Ryan Moore being another positive.

Mandoob
Represents last year’s winning owner and jockey combination, while trainer Brian Meehan saddled Raheen House to win the 2017 edition of the Bahrain Trophy Stakes. Unraced as a two-year-old, he has won both his races as a three-year-old, and it’s hard to gauge the potential ceiling of his ability. However, the horse that finished close-up behind him last time had been beaten much further previously, and he has plenty to find on official ratings.

Pleasant Man
This son of Galileo made a winning start to his career last year but disappointed on his next start and again on his first two runs of this season. He was then gelded and returned to winning ways off a mark of 92 in a handicap. He’s been raised to a mark of 95 for that win, but that still leaves him with plenty of improvement to find with the market leaders. The step up in distance could help his cause but his draw in stall six is a potential negative.

Stowell
Represents the powerful connections of John Gosden and Frankie Dettori. This son of Zoffany was unraced as a two-year-old but has quickly made up into a useful three-year-old in his three runs this season. Won a maiden on his second run and then stepped up on that form to finish third in the Queens Vase at Royal Ascot. The runner-up that day has since run a respectable race in the Irish Derby, but he was beaten seven lengths by a horse called Lone Eagle.

Yibir
Won his last two races as a two-year-old and has run against some of the best three-year-olds this season. He was beaten behind Alenquer and subsequent Derby winner Adayar on his seasonal debut and then looked unsuited by softer conditions on his next two starts. Those runs came in a Group 2 and when beaten four-lengths by Lone Eagle. James Doyle gets back in the saddle this time, having won on him on his only previous ride.

Who Will Win The Bahrain Trophy Stakes 2021?

Pleasant Man looks the most exposed of the six runners and he needs to improve around 10lb if he’s to trouble the market leaders. Mandoob officially needs to improve 13lb to get in the mix and he needs to overcome more of a lack of experience than recent winners of the Bahrain Trophy Stakes.

Dancing King has more experience than a typical winner and Mark Johnston may have a better chance of success with Gear Up. The first-time booking of Ryan Moore for this Group 1 winner suggests he’s fancied to go well and he’s the highest-rated runner.

Stowell must be respected because of the record of his connections, but his third in the Queens Vase suggests he has something to find on form with Yibir (be it that he could have more improvement to come after just three runs). The runner-up in the Queens Vase finished over seven lengths behind Lone Eagle in the Irish Derby, while Yibir was only beaten by four lengths by Lone Eagle on his previous run. Yibir should also prefer the return to faster conditions and looks a decent bet at around 3/1.